Metro News Release
For immediate release: August 12, 2008
Former Metro Board member Joe Alexander honored with APTA Hall of Fame award
The American Public Transportation Association recently named former Metro Board member Joe Alexander its 2008 Hall of Fame award winner. Mr. Alexander will be honored at an awards ceremony in October during the association’s annual meeting in San Diego.
As a 23-year member of Metro's Board of Directors, including four separate terms as Board chair, Alexander helped oversee planning and construction of the original 103-mile rail system. He was a leader in mobilizing public support for transit in the Washington region and was often referred to as "the voice of reason," working to keep the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia focused on completing the Metrorail system and integrating bus service throughout the region.
"Joe Alexander was a pioneer in the transit industry, and his leadership on Metro's Board of Directors helped shape the bus and rail system that over a million passengers a day now ride," said John Catoe, Metro's General Manager. "The APTA Hall of Fame award is a fitting recognition for his decades of service to public transportation in the Washington metropolitan area."
In addition to his service at Metro, Alexander devoted much of his career to public service and the transportation industry. He served for 32 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, representing the Lee District. He also served on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission Board of Directors for 24 years, including five terms as chairman. While there, he spearheaded a project to showcase the benefit of an exclusive bus-only lane on Interstate 95. The nationally acclaimed Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway bus-on-freeway project was later cited by then U.S. Secretary of Transportation John Volpe as the most successful demonstration project ever undertaken by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Alexander was the driving force in creating the Virginia Railway Express in the early 1990s, and served on VRE's Board of Directors for eight years. He has been active in the American Public Transportation Association for many years, serving as chairman from 1982 to 1984. During his tenure as chairman, he established Women in Transit, an initiative promoting equal opportunities for women in the transit industry.
APTA's Hall of Fame Award honors an individual who has concluded his or her career, made extraordinary contributions to public transportation and has actively participated in APTA activities.
"Joe has been one of the Washington Metropolitan area’s most outstanding transit advocates," said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.). "His leadership over the past 30 years as an elected official and his 23 years of service as a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board member has been profoundly instrumental in the successful planning and construction of projects in our region."
News release issued at 9:07 am, August 12, 2008.